Suction sweeper



Feb. 19 1924. 1,483,974

1 H. E. HOOVER SUCTION SWEEPER Filed Sept. 29, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEHcE.

HOWARD EARL HOOVER, OF CHICAGO. ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESN ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE HOOVER COMPANY, OF NORTH CANTON, OHIO, A'CORPORATION OF OHIO;

sueTIoN swnnrnn.

Application led September 29, 1919. Serial No. 327,246.

v To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, HOWARD EARL HOOVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Suction Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a combined installed plant and motor driven brush appara-v tus for suction sweepers. Generally speaking, the object of this invention is to provide means whereby a motor driven carpet agitating devicel and particularly a beating brush or abrushing and beating apparatus of any kind, can be used in and with a nozzle while the suction apparatus associated therewith is placed at a distance as for example in a stationary plant in the basement of the building. In the preferred form of m invention, I use a brush which is both a beating and a brushing apparatus and I drive it at a high rate of speed by means of a motor mounted on and associated with the brush nozzle. A flexible conduit leads from the nozzle to the ipe or conduit which connects with the insta led or stationary suction plant so that the nozzle can be moved freely about the room where the sweeping or cleaning is to be done. This flexible conduit may conneet directly with the nozzle body or as shown in a modified form to a handle or handle portion which is hollow and connected with the nozzle. The first is the pre'- ferred form of this application.

In the preferred form of my device,`the nozzle is provided with a relatively wide open mouth and this is preferably supported above the floor so that the carpet or'floor covering will rise thereto and the mouth 40 will be big enough to furnish a proper field vof operation for the beater and the brush or the beating brush. In the preferred form the connection between the handle or handle device is made as shown in front of the center of gravity of the machine and my object in this is to keep the dirt from spilling out of the casing when` the machine is lifted from the floor. Another object of my invention is to roduce a sweeping apparatus the head of w ich shall be as low as possible to permit its insertion under articles of furniture and where the handle Vor combined handle and conduit will be capable of being swung down in the horizontal position below the highest portion of the head.

y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a plan -view with, parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Like parts are indicated by like characters in all the figures.

A is a movable suction head having along its front side an enlarged brush chamber A.2 having a downwardly open wide suction mouth A3 arranged to be held above the floor by the rollers A4 adjacent the suction mouth, and the adjustable rollers A removed from the suction mouth. The arrangement is such that adjustment of .the rollers Alb \rotating the entire suction head about t e rollers A4 will change the height of the suction mouth or nozzle above the fioor. A Aa are brush guard fingers extending across the open mouth to make it imposslble for any rug or floor covering to be drawn up too far into the open mouth. The brush chamber A2 communicates toward the rear with an enlarged bifurcated suction chamber, the two arms of which communicate with the brush chamber adjacent its two ends and are at the other end joined and in communication with a hose pipe connection or conduit. sleeve A7. The arrangement is such that air may be drawn off through a pipe A communlcating with the sleeve'A", and because the cross section of the air passage as shown, decreases' from the nozzleor suction mouth rearwardly toward the sleeve, the suction and velocit at the suction moutl` will be less than that inthe pipe.

B is a combined 4beating and sweeping brush, the two separate functions of which are, by its shape and arrangement combined in one unit though obviously the beating and sweeping devices might be separated. This brush is rotatably mounted upon a shaft B1 which shaft is anchored at either end in the housin B2 B2 are thread guards surrounding t e ends of the bearings to protect the bearings from fouling. Bs is a pulley on the brush, whereby the belt B which is driven in turn by a pulley B5 may rotate the brush. B6 is a removable hand hole cover in the side of the belt housing. B7 is a belt housing and motor support mounted beneath and integral with the suction head and forming throughout a fpart of its length a belt housing-separate om the suction chamber and into which dust laden air is not drawn.

C is a motor enclosed wlthln a casm as indicated. It. is mounted u on the elt housing B3 or otherwise and 1s located below the :rearwardly extending portion of the suction head in or beneath .the a erture through the head which is formed y the bifurcations.

lin dotted lines, may be allowed to assume .the low position shown in dotted lines for cleaning under furniture and the like, or may be held in the full line position 'free to have a slight angular movement as the hand of the operator swings back and forth.

The hose pipe A8 has a collar E terminating in a plvoted eyelet E1 engagin a bracket E2 on the handle D. This brac et is serrated Vas at Ea so that the operator may move the eye E1 along and lock it in adjusted position.

A number of the rdetails here shown are not very fully described because they form no necessary part of the invention. I wish my drawings to be taken as in a sense diagammatic and I do not wish to be limited v to the particular form, size, shape and arrangement of the several parts or to the joint use of all of them.

The use and operation of my invention mesma the motor communicates motion to thel brush, is contained in a channel or chamber which lies between the two sectionsl of the bifurcated rearwardly extending foul air passageways and it therefore is not in line of travel of the foul air. The belt and its bearings are to that extent rotected. Ac-

cess is easily had to the be t by removing the hand hole cover; The motor lies entirely outside of the casing on the lower side thereof and is thus in an inverted-protected pocket so to speak. The belt housing is further protected by the inow of clean air from the motor side of the wall to which it is attached.

I claim:

In a suction sweeper 'the combination of'a casing having an inlet, a brush chamber, a conduit leading from the brush chamber, and a downwardly depending belt housing secured to the conduit with an electric motor and casing secured'to the housing, the motor shaft projecting through the wall thereof said housing 'having an opening near the motor shaft to permit air to be drawn therethrough and thence through the belt housing into the foul air conduit.

ln testimony whereof, I aflix my si ature in the presence of two witnesses this 22nd day of September, 1919.

.HOWARD EARL Hoeven.

Witnesses:

MILDRED H. Macma, EDITH L. PORTER. 

